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Isn't Tesla already there? I took a fully-autonomyous Cybercab to a coffee shop yesterday; it doesn't even have a steering wheel. It was just a short drive, bu

by dilap 22d ago

Isn't Tesla already there? I took a fully-autonomyous Cybercab to a coffee shop yesterday; it doesn't even have a steering wheel. It was just a short drive, but it handled various complications (a garbage truck, double-parked cars, construction, unpainted speed bumps) with aplomb. The driving felt extremely smooth and human-like (better, in my experience, than Waymo, which can still be a bit jerky).

helsinkiandrew 22d ago
> Isn't Tesla already there? Those operate in constrained areas of a few cities though - with a control room, that's a long way from telling your car to drive across state unattended.
- dilap 20d ago
  Yeah that's fair, though my understanding (perhaps wrong!) is Tesla unlike Waymo doesn't need super-detailed maps; it could in theory go across the state right now (but it doesn't have legal authorization). (In Austin it covers what looks to me like the whole city but not the surrounding smaller towns.)
toss1 21d ago
Do you know how much of the drive and handling those complications was actually fully autonomous vs how much (or what key points) were handled from the remote control room by a human? I'm not sure how you would tell, but that is a critical question for scaling and true autonomy.
- ghu2 21d ago
  Yup the question is scale - which reflects economics - and diversity of conditions. People underestimate how adaptable and efficient humans are.
- dilap 20d ago
  Yeah that's a good point -- I'm not sure, but it definitely felt like there was no remote control going on, just based on smoothness and speed. But for sure the ability exists, so good pts re true autonmy and scaling.
  - toss1 20d ago
    Yes, your comment on smoothness and speed prompted me to also wonder at what level the remote control could be happening. The obvious level is the monitor just takes over driving like a remote FPV driver/pilot. But I wonder if the software can also flag alerts early when it starts to identify ambiguity, and the monitor can see the camera+lidar outputs and make a guidance-level input like [get in the left lane here] or [pause/go], and the direct driver inputs (steering/brake/accelerator) are never interrupted, but they have better "tactical" guidance from the central office?

by dilap 22d ago

helsinkiandrew 22d ago

> Isn't Tesla already there? Those operate in constrained areas of a few cities though - with a control room, that's a long way from telling your car to drive across state unattended.

dilap 20d ago
Yeah that's fair, though my understanding (perhaps wrong!) is Tesla unlike Waymo doesn't need super-detailed maps; it could in theory go across the state right now (but it doesn't have legal authorization). (In Austin it covers what looks to me like the whole city but not the surrounding smaller towns.)

toss1 21d ago

Do you know how much of the drive and handling those complications was actually fully autonomous vs how much (or what key points) were handled from the remote control room by a human? I'm not sure how you would tell, but that is a critical question for scaling and true autonomy.

ghu2 21d ago
Yup the question is scale - which reflects economics - and diversity of conditions. People underestimate how adaptable and efficient humans are.
dilap 20d ago
Yeah that's a good point -- I'm not sure, but it definitely felt like there was no remote control going on, just based on smoothness and speed. But for sure the ability exists, so good pts re true autonmy and scaling.
- toss1 20d ago
  Yes, your comment on smoothness and speed prompted me to also wonder at what level the remote control could be happening. The obvious level is the monitor just takes over driving like a remote FPV driver/pilot. But I wonder if the software can also flag alerts early when it starts to identify ambiguity, and the monitor can see the camera+lidar outputs and make a guidance-level input like [get in the left lane here] or [pause/go], and the direct driver inputs (steering/brake/accelerator) are never interrupted, but they have better "tactical" guidance from the central office?